Books
I get a new stock of books each Christmas to try and make myself more worldly. Here are some of the ones I actually got round to reading and can recommend:
僕には鳥の言葉がわかる
A bestselling Japanese-language book by a researcher who has spent his whole career working out the language of birds (specialising in the cinereous tit), proving that they have definite words and grammar, and don't just communicate emotions.
Gold and Spices: Rise of Commerce in the Middle Ages
The book that inspired Spice and Wolf! It goes by the following description:
In Gold and Spices, eminent medievalist Jean Favier introduces and analyses the political, social, moral, and economic milieus of the late Middle Ages that engendered Europe's transformation from feudalism to capitalism.
I can say that Jean Favier clearly knows his stuff. It's basically a relentless marathon of world history facts every sentence. My geography sense is not good enough to follow at times (to put it lightly), and I'm only a few chapters in so far, but it's taught me some fun conversation pieces already.
Prisoners of Geography
A well-deserved bestseller. The best explanation of the Middle East conflict I've ever found.
How to Be Right: ...in a world gone wrong
A front-row seat to James O'Brien's experience dealing with bigotry as a call-in radio show host. Some well-needed defiance during the rise of populism in the UK.
Mission to China: Matteo Ricci and the Jesuit Encounter with the East
A bit of wasted potential – I don't feel I learned anything about how Matteo Ricci, writer of the first Portuguese-Chinese dictionary, mastered the Chinese characters. But I was happy to learn more about his mission to China. I got to see that dictionary for real in the end!
China's Economy (What Everyone Needs to Know)
A great exposure to how China developed over the course of three decades from an agricultural economy to an industrial powerhouse on the world stage.